LS3’s perception system helps it avoid obstacles as it follows a leader through dense woods.

Overview

NREC’s sensor system for DARPA’s Legged Squad Support System (LS3) enables LS3 to perceive its surroundings and autonomously track and follow a human leader.

LS3 is a four-legged, all-terrain robot developed by Boston Dynamics with funding from DARPA and the US Marine Corps. It is designed to carry equipment and supplies for dismounted soldiers and Marines. It is essentially a robotic pack mule. The highly mobile LS3 can go where wheeled or tracked vehicles cannot: steep and narrow footpaths, forests, and other places that can only be traversed on foot.

NREC’s rugged, lightweight sensor head enables LS3 to follow a human leader while avoiding trees, bushes, boulders, walls, and other obstacles. It uses software developed jointly by NREC and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.